TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WIAT) -- Alabama basketball suffered its second consecutive loss on the road at Missouri Wednesday night, and there seems to be a reoccurring theme that occurs in the Tide's losses.
The Crimson Tide's gauntlet of seven-straight ranked games has not started on the right foot as they have lost the first two contests. Slow starts and bad defense has continued to be the kryptonite of the team, as they can't overcome slow starts because they don't have the defense to string-together multiple stops when they need them.
It also doesn't help that when the Crimson Tide face an opponent, it seems as if someone on the opposing team is set to have a career-night against the Tide. The cherry on top of things that have repeatedly occurred in Alabama games: turnovers. Obviously Alabama loves to play fast, they score the most points in the country and prefer to shoot the ball within the first 10 seconds of the shot clock. But when you operate on a scheme like that, you need your players to take care of the ball, because playing so fast allows more possessions for the other team. Add in over 10 turnovers a game, and the opposition's possessions increase even more.
There has been good signs for Alabama though. Mark Sears has been playing great basketball as he dropped 35 points in the loss against Mizzou. In his last three games, he's been better about not turning the ball over, while making winning plays that aren't necessarily scoring. The best game this season for Alabama was arguably the game against Texas, where they shot lights out and played solid defense. They still haven't strung-together games where they play their best basketball, and that can be either a good thing or a bad thing with March approaching.
Here's the good and bad for Alabama basketball:
The Bad
Slow starts
- In the past two games, Alabama has started from behind and never gained the lead at any point in the game. Against Auburn, they trailed 9-0 early on, and they lost by nine. Against Mizzou, they trailed 12-0 early, and lost the game by 12 points. The Crimson Tide must find ways to get on the scoreboard early and come out with defensive intensity.
Bad defense
- Alabama gave up 59 points to Missouri... in the first half. You have to give credit where credit is due, the Tigers came out hot and continued on that all night, finishing the game shooting 60%. The Crimson Tide are giving up 80.3 points a game ranking 340th in the country in scoring defense. In most games, we've seen Bama play solid defense in the first half, with that effort tending to drop off in the second half. They must find a way to play a full 40 minutes.
Turnovers
- This one has been a theme nearly every game and nearly every season it feels like. 10 turnovers in the first against Missouri hurt the Tide as Mizzou scored 21 points off of their mistakes. They cleaned it up for the most part in the second half, finishing with 14, but it always comes back to bite. Alabama averages 13.2 turnovers a game. Giving up possessions as a team that plays extremely fast is a recipe for disaster.
Players having career nights against them
- If you've tuned into an Alabama game this season, there's a good chance you saw someone on the opposing team have the game of their career. Tuesday night, Missouri's Mark Mitchell went for a career-high 31 points against Alabama. Against Mississippi State, Josh Hubbard dropped a career-high 38 points. When Bama traveled to North Dakota early in the season, Treysen Eaglestaff dropped 40 points on the Tide.
The Good
Never out of games
- With the depth of Alabama basketball, they're never truly out of the game. In the game against Auburn, they fought back to tie the game in the second half, Auburn's big plays just proved too much. Same thing happened with Missouri, the Tide were down as much as 20 and went on to cut it down as low as six points. Alabama has the firepower to compete and stay in games against anyone in the country, which is why they're a Final Four contender.
Mark Sears looking like himself
- Since the benching against LSU, Sears' intensity has been good. Yes, he's had games where he turns it over more than Nate Oats would like, but he plays hard and shows passion in every contest. Even when shots aren't falling, he's still be able to get teammates involved, averaging nearly five assists a game.
Length of team can give opposition fits
- Alabama leads the country is rebounds per game, averaging nearly 44 a game. With Clifford Omoruyi, Grant Nelson, Jarin Stevenson all standing at 6'11, the Crimson Tide have the length to contest any and every shot.
Aden Holloway taking over Latrell Wrightsell Jr's spot
- When Wrightsell went down, Alabama lost its best three-point shooter for the season. But its been Holloway whose taken the reigns with shooting, as he's 42% from behind the arc this season. Chris Youngblood has also fought for title of best shooter on the team, as he played a pivotal role on the road against Mississippi State, where he shot 7-of-10 from three.